CITY CATEGORY
Darlene Little
Koenig & Strey
Darlene Little became the vice president and managing broker of Koenig & Strey Real Living’s Lincoln Park office in February 2011; prior to that, she was the executive vice president of Rubloff Residential Properties for over 12 years. Her previous real estate experience includes stints as vice president, managing broker, operations manager, sales trainer and selling broker, and prior to her entry in real estate, she was founder and president of her own corporation, with four locations in the Chicagoland area.
Little is similarly involved at the association level of real estate. She is currently on the Chicago Association of Realtors Contracts and Riders Task Force, and has served on the Professional Standards Committee for the CAR, the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). She is a past president of CAR and also won its Realtor of the Year award in 2007, and has served as a director at both the IAR and NAR.
Little earned her B.A. in psychology at the University of Illinois in Chicago. She currently lives in one of Lincoln Park’s historic row houses with her husband Rick and her daughter Stacy. In her free time, she volunteers at Misericordia, a home for developmentally disabled children and adults, and volunteers with the Special Olympics.
“Here is a list of values that inspire me; I hope these shine through: love what you do, [and] be passionate about your role and position; have your values, which are non-wavering; know your product, understand your business and keep thinking and growing; inspire, challenge, motivate, understand, care about and respect your team; hire the best, who also practice the same values; have an open door policy and really listen to [your agents’] concerns and try to solve (their) problems; work for a company you value and trust; have some fun; [and] always have candy at your desk.”
RUNNERS-UP:
Gay Johnson, Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty; George Schultz, @properties